The Komodo island and neighboring Rinca are between Sumbawa and Flores, approximately five hundred kms east of Bali island. The shape of the island is very irregular, its three hundred and fourty square kms spread over a number of peninsulas and promontories. The dry hills, which rise to seven hundred and thirty five meters, sprout skinny Lontar palmiras. The plankton-rich seas around Komodo and support amazing reefs, and a range of large marine life, including whales and dolphins. There is one village on Komodo, and the six hundred or so Komodo islanders cling precariously to the eastern shore. Despite the small size of the community, they have developed their own distinct dialect. The make their living by fishing at night with pressure lamps from graceful, twin-hulled catamarans called bagans.
The National Park of Komodo lies within an area known as the Wallacea, a transitional zone running roughly north-south where the Asian fauna from the Sunda Shelf west of Lombok intermingles with Australian species from the Sahul Shelf further east. Large land-dwelling mammals were unable to migrate to the isolated Komodo island, but swimming and flying animals did. The monsoon forests of Komodo teem with activity, particularly early in the morning before the sun is at its peak. Squawking cockatoos flock in often leafless trees, disturbing large green imperial pigeons, black-naped orioles, sunbirds, flowerpeckers, and noisy friarbirds, while shiny black drongos and enormous crows soar nearby. The few mammals found in the park–crab-eating macaques, wild pigs, buffalos, horses, a healthy population of Timor deer and a few wild dogs—were perhaps introduced by man centuries ago. Small lizards and geckos abound, and the snake population includes green snakes, vipers, and cobras. Two species of frogs are also found in the island.
The National Park of Komodo also encompasses a large area of sea where the waters are rich in plankton and oxygen. The snorkeling is excellent. Colorful crinoids, nudibranchs, giant clams, turtles, corals of numerous shapes and sizes, and a multitude of reef and pelagic fish, sharks and rays inhabit reefs which are within easy swimming distance of the beaches. These waters serve as a migratory route for whales and dolphins, and often flying fish and schools of tuna skim the surface of the open sea.
The monsoon forest species thrive under the hot, dry conditions: Acacia, Corypha elata, and an occasional stand of bamboo are interspersed with the brilliant orange flowers of the wild kapoks, soursop, and custard apple trees, and the gnarled, sour-podded tamarinds. High up in the treetops are epiphytes: staghorn ferns and several species of orchids. On the forest floor, junglefowl and quail scratch for insects, and megapodes build their dirtmound nests, often disturbed by burrowing or egg-hungry dragons. On the rare occasions when the rains do fall, the islands quickly turn a lush green. Purple-petaled flowers burst into bloom, attracting a variety of butterflies. The tall grasses on the hillsides, usually brown, are reminiscent of a sea of young rice, waving in the wind.[email_link]
